deathless decay

A damp wind blows through you. It smells of fuel oil, rust, and a sweetish rot that shouldn't have lasted this long.

You are lying in the mud.

Cold clay coats your bones. When you try to move, it reluctantly lets go, as if it's been holding you here for too long. Your fingers—bare, stripped of flesh—slowly slip out.

You rise.

The trench stretches in both directions, disappearing into the gray fog. The boards are rotted, the earth is crumbling. The barbed wire sags, covered in a black film.

Figures around.

Soldiers.

They are everywhere.

One stands with his rifle pressed to his shoulder, staring into space. The other one froze in his tracks, as if he had forgotten where he was going. The third one lies face down, with a pale stem and a dull flower growing from its back.

Nobody moves.

But this is not death.

You look at your hands. Bones. The remains of your coat clinging to them. The gas mask hangs crookedly on your face, the glass cracked. There's emptiness inside. No breath. No warmth.

Only existence.

A dull, metallic groan echoes somewhere in the distance. Drawn out, tired. As if something enormous was still trying to work… despite everything.

You don't remember yourself. You don't remember the war. You don't know how much time has passed.

But you stand.

And this is already more than others can do.

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Cartridges: 5 Rifle condition: worn out Body condition: damaged Intelligence: 62/100 Decay: 28/100 Ether: 9/100

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What will you do?

1. Inspect the nearby soldiers

2. Check the rifle

3. Get out of the trench and go towards the sound

4. Pull the flower out of the body (cruelly)